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Members & Community

Engaging members, communication, community building, welcome packets, promoting your co-op and resolving conflict.

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Cover Image 12 Tips to Keep Your Units Full 12 Tips to Keep Your Units Full

If your co-op has vacancies for any other reason, we suggest you try these ideas.

Article  Coop Members
Cover Image 2019 Housing Impact Report 2019 Housing Impact Report

Access to a safe, decent, and affordable home can build a stable foundation for families and propel them to improve their health, boost their educational attainment, and increase their economic mobility

Reports  Coop Impact
Cover Image 4 Ways Gossip Hurts Your Community 4 Ways Gossip Hurts Your Community

Gossip is harmful in all organizations, and community associations are no exception.

Article  Coop Communication
Cover Image 5 Styles of Conflict Resolution 5 Styles of Conflict Resolution

To help you choose individuals best suited to represent the association, let's examine the five ways people handle conflict, from the least to the most effective:

Cheat Sheets  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image A New Chapter in BoardSource's Evolution A Shift Towards Community A New Chapter in BoardSource’s Evolution of A Shift Towards...

Explore Board Source's new theory of change and shift towards community engagement.

Article  Coop Promoting
Cover Image A-Complete-Guide-to-Welcome-Packets A-Complete-Guide-to-Welcome-Packets

A welcome packet should be the first correspondence that the association sends to them.

Article  Coop Welcome Packet
Cover Image ABCs-of-Co-op-Impact ABCs-of-Co-op-Impact

Though cooperative businesses have existed for over 100 years, evidence about their unique contributions to American economic activity, community vitality, and worker well-being is still emerging. International research on cooperatives...

Reports  Coop Impact
Cover Image Active Membership in Housing Co-op Active Membership in Housing Co-op

Housing co-operatives are membership organizations. People can become their members. Their memberships are what define them.

Guides  Coop Members
Cover Image Basics of Consensus Basics of Consensus

An alternative process that many co-ops are using is consensus. Consensus is a process of building a united judgment whose purpose is not to avoid conflict but to bring out...

Article  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image Before Board service ask the tough questions Before Board service ask the tough questions

Some of the bad things that happen to board members happen because they don't ask any questions about what the service will entail.

Article  Coop Communication
Cover Image Better Boardroom Conversations Better Boardroom Conversations

Do your board members seem disinterested during meetings? Do your discussions regularly stall? It could be because your board is not being asked to think critically.

 

Article  Coop Communication
Cover Image beyond_participation_building_a_foundation_for_real_member_involvement beyond_participation_building_a_foundation_for_real_member_involvement

Ask your average co-op member what their co-op’s biggest problem is. It’s likely that they’ll say, “lack of participation”.

Reports  Coop Members
Cover Image Board Communication Best Practices Board Communication Best Practices

Remember: if a Board decision is required, Board Members have clear legal and regulatory requirements about how they communicate.

Article  Coop Communication
Cover Image Board Member Code of Conduct & Ethics Board Member Code of Conduct & Ethics

Are nonprofit board members required to conduct themselves in any particular manner? Yes! Under well-established principles of nonprofit corporation law, a board member must meet certain standards of conduct and...

Cheat Sheets  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image Board Member Tips – How to handle Conflicts of Interest Board Member Tips – How to handle Conflicts of Interest

As the board of directors, you must know that both real and apparent conflicts of interest can occur while conducting business

Article  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image Campaign Communications Kit Campaign Communications Kit

Rather than passively accept a future shaped by outside forces, nonprofit and local community leaders came together to define a vision and strategy for change. They set in motion Moving...

Reports  Coop Communication
Cover Image Code of Conduct Code of Conduct (6-Page Report)

The code of conduct guides a director in areas such as communication, staff liaison, and taking public positions.

Reports  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image Communication skills Communication skills

In this booklet, we start by outlining some basic communication concepts. We then examine steps we can take to enhance communication, including avoiding misunderstandings that arise from assumptions based on...

Reports  Coop Communication
Cover Image Community Energy Communication Guide Community Energy Communication Guide

perhaps even the long-term ‘holy grail’ – for pursuing a more embedded, engaged and ultimately a more encompassing energy transformation for our societies. People – as consumers and prosumers

Reports  Coop Communication
Cover Image Community Land Trusts And Limited Equity Cooperatives A Marriage Of Affordable Homeownership Community Land Trusts And Limited Equity Cooperatives A Marriage Of...

Homeownership has been a cornerstone of US housing policy since the Great Depression.  Its normative value is steeped in visions of white picket fences and manicured lawns. An economic preference...

Reports  Coop Community
Cover Image Conflict Conflict

Whilst it’s true that good governance will help co-operatives avoid many of the conflicts that can arise when a group of people work together, it’s also important to consider how...

Reports  Coop Conflict Resolution
Cover Image Conflict Communication Skills Conflict Communication Skills

‘Noise’ can occur in the sender, in the receiver, or in the channel. ‘Noise’ means anything that gets in the way of the receiver's understanding of the sender’s meaning.

Guides  Coop Conflict Resolution